Music and people hold my life together. I describe experiences, discoveries and insights, often connected with music and with teaching and playing piano. The blog is a way to stay in touch with friends, and may also be food for thought for anyone else, especially people connected with music and the piano/
Musik und Menschen halten mein Leben zusammen. Ich beschreibe Erfahrungen, Entdeckungen und Einsichten, oft in Zusammenhang mit dem Klavierspiel und dem Klavierunterricht.

Sunday, June 26, 2011

When I accidentally found the information on the internet, I couldn’t believe it at first: The street pianos are back! 88 of them, all over New York City, between June 18 and July 2nd 2011. And here’s some additional good news: the one at Alice Tully Hall has developed from an upright last year to a grand piano this year. The decor is gorgeous, and the artist has refrained from coloring the keyboard - thank you so much for that! Unfortunately you can’t put up the music stand, so you need to bring your own, or tape the music to the lid.

Another grand piano is located inside the Rubenstein Atrium on 62nd and Broadway, if you prefer a quieter, more concert like atmosphere - in fact, I’m going to play Preludes and Fugues from Bach’s Well-Tempered Clavier there tomorrow from 6:00 to 6:30 pm.

Last Wednesday, some friends and I gathered at the Alice Tully Hall piano for a little impromptu birthday concert. Having a birthday at the beginning of summer is no guarantee for good weather. Fortunately the overhang from the building kept us dry during a heavy downpour just as people were arriving.

I showed Vika how to play chopsticks. Marcia and I played Moszkowki’s “Spanish Dances,” followed by some music from Manfred Schmitz’ “Jazz Parnass.” As it turned out, Vika, who grew up in St.Petersburg Russia, knew all the melodies - her teacher Ljuba Boruchson had taught them at Childrens’ Music School. “ Heaven knows where she got them, and how she got away with it,” Vika said. Jazz didn't go over too well with the Soviet regime.

Two young people who had been standing off to the side with a large camera came up to us and introduced themselves. They were following the Street Piano event with their recording equipment in order to produce a feature for Japanese Television. Would we be willing to give an interview? What did we think of the event?

Recording a feature for Japanese TelevisionI wished we could have the pianos around all year. Wouldn’t it be great to have “Public Music Rooms”, a musical equivalent to the “Bryant Park Reading Room,” where you can sit down, pick up a book from the shelf and read.

A “Public Music Room” would give you a chance to just go and play a little, or sit there and listen, while you wait at the airport, at the hospital, during lunch break at work, when you need to relax or blow off steam after some unpleasant event at the office. Libraries provide public access to computers - how about public access to pianos?

Of course, there is music playing from loudspeakers everywhere, but playing yourself, or listening to someone play live music is not the same. The energy is different, it’s a “soul-to-soul” connection.

She was right. After we invited them to the piano, they delighted everybody with the most beautiful Chinese songs. The evening ended on an international note, with an impromptu vocal ensemble, consisting of people from the US, Russia, China and Germany singing Russian folk songs.

Tuesday, June 21, 2011

When I got home on Saturday, a friend from Germany who teaches violin had left a message on the answering machine that expressed exactly how I felt: “ My students just played their recital last night, I feel I can breathe again, and make phone calls and look forward to the summer..” No matter where you live and what you teach, it’s the same everywhere.

The big “crescendo” towards the end of the school year started almost a month ago, when my first two students played in the auditions of the New Jersey Music Educator’s Association. It was a “first time” for me, too. When I worked at music schools, we always had our own auditions, and you knew the expectations, the people on the jury. This time, I had no idea what would happen.

I felt many students' preparations were juggling between “overcooked” and “underprepared”, which is a common situation before recitals. It’s often difficult to keep pieces “fresh” over an extended period of time. The music feels “old.” The expression goes flat, and all that’s left are fingers. Everything gets faster - when you’re between 10 and 14, it’s hard to find the break anyway. One student found it helpful to invent a story to go with her piece, which helped her renew the emotional connection to the music.

Others get started too late, and find themselves cramming notes into their system until the last minute. It’s amazing what some people can accomplish in a short time, and you just wonder how they would play if they managed to keep up the energy throughout the entire school year.

In the end, it all came out well - with everybody getting “superior” or “outstanding ratings, there were no complaints. I had volunteered to help out with organization on the second audition date. I was asked to put the rating sheets into the mailing envelopes, so I got to read many mindful and constructive judges’ comments, while listening to a lot of excellent playing coming from the classrooms.

Throughout the year, I had kept a practice chart for the students - for every day of practicing, you get a practice point. For 20 points you get a certificate, for 100 you get a little gift, and then you aim for the next 100...

The practice chart may not be totally accurate. Some students started lessons later in the school year. People forget to check off, or they loose their notebooks. It’s not meant to be a competition either. Considering that the students with the highest practice scores all received “Outstanding” ratings at their auditions, it illustrates that practicing is useful.

“Do the points we collected this year carry over into the next year?” one student asked. No, they don’t. In the fall, we start all over, to give everyone a fresh chance to improve, especially if this year wasn’t such a good practice year.